Picnic Day 2012

Yesterday was the 98th annual Picnic Day at UC Davis, #PicnicDay2012!!! Picnic Day is a pretty big event in Davis and many people come. Alumni, students, family, and many out of towners come to Davis during this day. People come for the drinking and partying. Others come to the Downtown Davis area for the food, alcohol, or shops, where businesses have the opportunity to reach maximum occupancy. There are people who come for the shows, exhibits, and other exciting events on campus.

I woke up pretty early in the morning to have a breakfast with my friend. For breakfast, we ended up eating at Crepeville. Today was very hot. I believed it was over 90 degrees for most of today.

While I was walking around Downtown Davis, I noticed #Kony2012 posters. I also noticed that the crowd was getting bigger.

People waiting for the parade in the stands and listened on for the commencement of Picnic Day's parade.

Some plants were given out and there was a line at the Plant Sciences Building.

The Band-Uh! was playing before the parade started and I think they were the openers for the parade.

I also recorded the Picnic Day parade. I didn't record the entire thing. I cut off some parts. It's about 24 minutes, which is pretty long. The parade is not all in order. I apologize about that. I choose an ending that I thought best represented the Davis campus.

Directories of the shows, exhibits, and food in some corners on campus for Picnic Day 2012. The theme for this year was "Then, Now, and Always." But, the directory was also available online in the Picnic Days website. Some of the events that happened today were optical lazer tag, milking of cows, derby race show, and many more. Like every other year, there were long lines for the magic show and some other popular shows.

After a few hours of Picnic Day in the morning, I decided to come back for the last few hours of the Battle of the Bands. Battle of the Bands is one the more popular events of Picnic Day and its one of the longest events. The Battle of the Bands was held in Lake Spafford in the Arboretum. 

For the Battle of the Bands, I believe there were 5 bands from across the state battling. It was very exciting because I got to see how other bands performed, as well as Band Uh!

UC Irvine's band were one of the bands that came and performed. I think Humboldt, and UC San Diego was also there. One other band also came, but I didn't find out where they were from. And, of course, Band uh! was there battling it out with other schools.

I think all the bands gave great performances and I definitely enjoyed them. Also, it was nice to just sit down and listen when the weather was cooler.

Next year, it will be the 99th Picnic Day! Then, the 100th! I will definitely try to make it to the 100th Picnic Day!

Bon Iver Concert at Freeborn

Tonight, I went to the Bon Iver and All Tiny Creatures concert at Freeborn hall at UC Davis. It sold out in a couple of days. However, limited tickets were released and sold a few hours before the event. Bon Iver won a Grammy the day that tickets were released online, so I guess that helped contribute to the fast selling tickets. Bon Iver also performed at Coachella.

Back of Freeborn Hall where trucks load and such

I think most people had to pick up their tickets during will call. When I arrived to pick up my tickets at Freeborn, there were already a line of people waiting to get in. But, I didn't get in line right after getting my tickets. I didn't have the desire to be in the very front, crowded by many other people and there would still be some places around the front if I came in a little later. I don't think this show started on time, but it started very close to the time it was suppose to start.

All Tiny Creatures performing at Freeborn

All Tiny Creatures opened up the show. It's pretty dark in the picture above due to my video camera having no lighting for itself. Also, the effects and lighting for All Tiny Creatures were not very bright and did not change often as Bon Iver.

For this event, there were no seats. Everyone had to stand. I think it was one of my first events that I had to stand. I wasn't wearing the most comfortable shoes for standing, but nothing I can't handle.

Bon Iver performance at Freeborn

When Bon Iver performed, there was much more effects and different kinds of lighting going on. There were more use of props and such. As you can see in the picture, there is some cloth looking thing hanging from the ceiling. That cloth or whatever helped to display some effects and worked with lighting. And, I think it worked out well.

Bon Iver performing at Freeborn

He performed a few more songs before closing. I've only listened one of his songs and it was Skinny Love. It was one of his first songs that he played.

The energy in the room was much stronger when Bon Iver was performing. I noticed that during his more popular songs, more people were recording. I'd say the number of people seemed around 15 or more at times. When it seemed that Bon Iver had closed the show, the crowd remained cheering and out came Bon Iver.

Explosions in the Sky at Mondavi

Last night, I went to the Explosions in the Sky concert in Mondavi Center. The show did not begin at 8pm, but started about 10 or 15 minutes after the time.

This was the event at Mondavi that I didn't get a student discount. I thought that the price for this event was kind of pricy. I was seated at the center of the Grand Tier was I was two levels up from the stage and to the back.

I wanted to take pictures during the concert. But, they specifically stated no photography or recording. So, no pictures inside Jackson hall or during the concert. But, below, is a picture of Mondavi when I arrived for the concert last night.

The concert was opened up my Zammuto. I really enjoyed Zammuto. I only remembered their song "Finger Skating" because of the name and it was one of the few they introduced.

Since I didn't really know the music from Explosions in the Sky prior to coming to the concert, I had no idea which of their songs they played. However, I really liked their first one.This concert was different from the other concerts I've been so far. There doesn't seem to be a focus on singing, but rather the musical instruments they are playing. I think Zammuto and Explosions in the Sky did a wonderful job in playing the music. Both of the bands seemed really into playing music.

Davis Feminist Film Festival

I've been interning for the Davis Feminist Film Festival (DFFF) ever since Winter Quarter. I have to say that I enjoy this internship. There were not many hours required each week, so the work load was very manageable. I like the group of interns that I worked with. We helped each other out and helped put on some of the events and tabling.

The preparation for the event came down to the two festival dates, April 12 & 13. I didn't attend the first festival date since my other internship conflicted at the same time. I also had to watch Jeff, who lives at home for my volunteering before it stops showing in theaters after Thursday night. However, I did make it for Friday. I arrived pretty early, so I volunteered to watch the Silent Auction. There were some great items up for auctions.

My tickets for the show! A different color for each of the nights. Each night had a different lineup.

The brochure for the list of lineups. The brochure also included information about the Davis Feminist Film Festival. Also, the interns are included in the brochure, so my name is in there! There was also a survey included, but I didn't have my brochure since I put it in my car before the films began.

I missed a film or two since I volunteered to watch the Silent Auction. When I got in the theater, it looked nicely occupied. I think it had a great turn out. But, I heard Thursday had a better crowd.

After we had intermission, the directors of the event did a thanks and acknowledgement. They mentioned people who made the film festival possible. In addition, the interns who were present were invited to the stage and given flowers. A few others were also invited on stage to get flowers. All of us interns did not expect to get the flowers, but it was appreciated.

I liked the films that were shown and thought that it was a great lineup. I think I liked The Frog film best. For the last film that was shown, the director was there and was available for Q&A after the show.

The end of the 2012 Davis Feminist Film Festival meant that most of the work for my internship are already done. But, I still look forward to connecting with other intern. I'm still open to help out the festival and with anything that can be done ahead of time for next years festival.

Sherman Alexie at Mondavi

On Wednesday night, I went to the Sherman Alexie event at Mondavi Center. Sherman Alexie does many things. He is a poet, author, and a standup comedian. But, he came to UC Davis because he is an author and his book was picked for the Campus Community Project for the 2011-2012 school year.

It was not my first time in Mondavi, but my second. For the first time, I believe I was there in 2009. I can't seem to remember the title of the event, but it is when the chancellor and other figures open up the academic year. I think that was also the first time Chancellor Kathei opened up the academic year since it was her first year as chancellor at UC Davis.

I really like being in the Mondavi Center because it is very beautiful and elegant inside. It seems well funded. I think that the people who attended this event was mostly middle age to elderly. There were students though and some young ones.

That event was free. This event was not. However, I received the student discount, but I had to pay for the highest student discount, which was $20. I found out about the program about a week before and bought it the day before the event. My seat was in the orchestra, which was pretty close to the stage, but I was in the back row of the orchestra. Parking was $7, but I didn't drive; I called escort service and saved $.

I was given this program issue for the month of Mar-Apr 2012. It included information about other program and information about Sherman Alexie.

For my UWP class, we will be reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" later on in the quarter. But, I think going to the event will help with discussion and some good things to think about when I'm reading the book. I've read one a few pages into the book and it is pretty funny and interesting. During his program, he was also humorous and entertaining. The program lasted about 2 hours with Q & A and not including autograph signing.

After his program, he had a Q&A session. Then, he signed autographs. I waited about 30 minutes for him to sign my book. He wasn't the first author of a book that I met though. Many of my professors also wrote books and some of which were my favorite books. I didn't ask them for an autograph, but I guess I should have if I really enjoyed the book.

 The line inside Mondavi Center to get autographs from Sherman Alexie.

Events in Davis and Sacramento

During my time at UC Davis, I spent the majority of my time focusing on studies or being involved on campus through a project, internship or volunteering. But, there are other opportunities for me to engage in what happens on campus and around the Davis/Sacramento area. I know that I have not taken advantage of a lot of the opportunities, but I am working on taking advantage of more of them.

Before I came to UC Davis, I haven't been to a concert. My first concert was the B Here Concert at Freeborn Hall in UC Davis and it was so awesome. I went to my second concert, Big Time Rush Better With You in Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, and it was also amazing. After attending the Big Time Rush concert, I thought to myself, I should take advantage of more opportunities in the Davis/Sacramento area. And, that will be one of my goals for this year.

I am already working on that goal. Although I already missed out on Drake and will miss out on Steve Aoki and The Shins, I will be attending other exciting concerts. I bought a ticket to see Lady Antebellum in Power Balance Pavilion during my spring break. I'm not a huge fan of Lady Antebellum, but I definitely wanted to do something exciting during my spring break. Plus, my friend likes Lady Antebellum and wanted to go. I've purchased a ticket to see Bon Iver with All Tiny Creatures at Freeborn Hall at UC Davis. Actually, I haven't really listen to any of Bon Iver's songs. I bought a ticket after I found out he won a Grammy, so I assumed he was wonderful. Yes, I love attending events, in which, I have no idea what I'm expecting, but assume that I will have a great time. I'm glad I bought my tickets to see Bon Iver the night they came out because the concert sold out about two days after the tickets were sold! Also, I recently found out Explosions From the Sky are coming to Mondavi Center in UC Davis and I want to see them as well, even though I am not familiar with their music.

One thing that has changed during my 4th year in university was that I finally have my own car to drive anywhere I like. That means I could do more things and go to more events. So there's almost no excuse not to attend an event. Having a car allows me to attend the Davis Feminist Film Festival (DFFF), which I been meaning to attend since my freshman year but did not have a ride at night and didn't have a bike. In addition, I will also be able to attend the DFFF dance party and art show. I was also able to attend the Hackademy awards this year without having to worry if I had a ride or not. But, I did have to worry about finding parking, but that turned out to be no problem.

I have been attending the Davis Farmers Market every week and I don't seem to get tired of it. It just feels nice to go there and see what locals have to sell. I've also walked past the Davis Flea Market, but haven't really looked around. So, I plan on browsing next time.

There are so many events coming up! They each offer something unique and exciting. I cant wait. There's picnic day, which will be huge! There's the Whole Earth Festival. There's the Davis Film Festival. There's also going to be a Asian American Film Festival in UC Davis, which they have every year. During my freshman year, the whole room was filled with attendee and it had declined since and I want to show my support for that event this year. There's also the UC Davis Pow wow, which will have tons of great performances and food. Also, I can't forget about the culture days. There's going to be the Native American Culture Days, La Razya Culture Days, Mixed Heritage Week, Black Family Week, and Asian Pacific Culture Week. I want to attend at least one event from those different culture weeks at UC Davis.

I'm happy for all these events to happen, as well as so many other events! My spring quarter and last quarter at UC Davis will definitely be memorable and successful!

Closing of Ben & Jerry's in Davis

Chocolate Therapy flavored ice cream @ Ben & Jerry's

On Tuesday night, I learned that Ben & Jerry's was closing through a tweet. I found this fact sad because I like that place. That was the closes Ben & Jerry's in Davis and in Sacramento. Now, the closes one is in Napa.

Chocolate Therapy flavored ice cream @ Ben & Jerry's

When I learned about Ben & Jerry's closing on Wednesday, I just had to go there for a scoop. I went that evening and someone I had in my class before gave me a coupon for a free scoop. The thing was that most of the flavors were gone :(. There were about 4 ice cream flavors to choose from when I was there. I had my mind set on chocolate therapy, but I suppose it was my time to try a new flavor. I choose the Strawberry Cheesecake flavor. And, I got the second to last scoop left of that flavor. It was delicious! I didn't think I would enjoy it that much, but I did, and I actually bought a bucket of Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake today.

Strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream @ Ben & Jerry's

I'm definitely going to miss having a Ben & Jerry's around time. I love their ice cream and their unique ice cream names! If another ice cream place or business were to take over that location, I would hope it's Häagen Dazs.

Week #2 in February

This was a very busy week for me.

On Monday, I had an internship meeting. I went by pretty quickly. Afterwards, I worked on creating a master email list. This internship seems pretty chill, but I think it's going to get more busy when the day of the festival approaches!

I had a paper due Tuesday and I was almost done on Monday night. Just needed to edit it. However, I had another paper due on Wednesday. And, I didn't do much preparation for that paper. So, I tried to finish my paper on Tuesday first before Wednesdays. I thought that I wouldn't like Wednesdays this quarter because I have classes for about 5 hours straight. But, it's Tuesdays that I enjoy less. On Tuesdays, I have to spend the night preparing for discussions, readings, and assignments for my classes on Wednesday. When Wednesday finally approaches, it's actually pretty quick and that kind of surprises me.

I had my other internship meeting on Wednesday. It was picture day, so we had to dress up nice. Well, at least from the top. I like dressing nice, but most of my professional clothes are summer focused. I don't have a lot of coats or pants. I mostly have several skirts and blouses. We also chose a design cover for the publication next year, but it's still going to be edited further. Also, for the internship I supported the first fundraiser at Ali Baba's by just mentioning APIA Searchlight Directory.

hamburger @ Ali Babas

french fries with ketchup @ Ali Babas

 On Wednesday and Thursday night, I prepared for my midterm on Friday. I skipped a lot of interesting meetings to study. When Friday approached, I was really nervous because I certainly didn't study enough. There was so much more I should have taken in and known. I came to my first class on Friday exhausted as always. I don't know what it is, but I always feel exhausted in that class. But, I still manage to take my notes. After that class, I went to take my midterm. When I got in, the students were immediately told to take the blue book out, so that we could start promptly. And, the professor had a timer, so the class would know when we could all start. I think he was the first professor to have a timer go off for a midterm to start. We had 50 minutes to finish the midterm. I could have used more time, but I finished the midterm with what I could have said. Now, I just have one more midterm to go!

On Friday, I really wanted to watch Underworld. But, it wasn't showing anywhere in Davis anymore. My next choice was The Vow. I knew it was going to be very popular this weekend and probably make #1, especially with Valentine's Day coming up. But, first, me and my housemate decided to eat and we went to Hoa Viet Restaurant. My housemate got the seafood noodle soup. I was in the mood for beef vermicelli, so that's what I got.

seafood noodle soup

beef vermicelli

 

finished beef vermicelli

Yes, I finished my vermicelli. Well, there's a tinsy part of the sauce in the bottom and a few vegetables. But, I didn't want to lick the bowl at the moment.

After we finished eating dinner, we headed over to watch the 7:45 screening for The Vow. I went to the parking garage and had to drive all up to the third floor. When we got downstairs to buy the tickets for The Vow, I noticed that a sign that said the tickets were sold out for the 7:45 showing. I was sad since we could have bought the tickets before dinner and we could have watched the movie. Also, I really wanted to watch a movie that evening.

When me and my housemate were on our way back to our apartment, we decided to go to the ARC. While we were there we found out about the gymnastics game and decided to go. However, we only made it to see UC Davis in the floor exercise. We were playing against Oregon state and Sacramento State. We ended up placing in third out of the three. And, we were only behind Sacramento State by about 2 points. Oh, so close!

Today, I really wanted to go to the Davis Farmers Market. I went last time, but I didn't get anything. But, today, I got a pretzel, chocolate croissant, and kernel popcorn. I was so close to getting apple juice, but didn't.

Davis Farmers Market

I like the Davis Farmers market. People of all ages and backgrounds are in one spot to support local businesses or goods. Also, some businesses allow you to try samples. There was this one business that had cheese samples. I love cheese sampling. Also, when I try samples, it allows me to try something new that I haven't tried before.

Davis Farmers Market

Davis Farmers Market

 

pretzel, kettle popcorn, and chocolate croissant

The croissant was yummy. It was very soft and definitely tasted like a pastry. It wasn't very flaky, so I like that. When I got the kettle corn, the person asked if I would like it tied. But, then, I saw the person ahead of me had it tied, but also lost some popcorn in the process. I wanted more popcorn, so I decided to eat some before closing it. I haven't tried the pretzel, but I hope I will like it.

UC Davis is a beautiful forest

I finally got around to finishing this blog post. I had this idea for weeks. The theme of this post is that "it continues". What is it that continues? It's the trees and when you take a look at the pictures you can notice that I focused on how there's no end to it. You can walk around UC Davis and notice a lot of these at various sights on campus. Also, it's just nice to sit or lay down and notice the beautiful sights around you.

Me @ the arboretum with ducks

This blog post is inspired by my friend, Chen. It's inspired by her because I remembered we had a discussion about the UC campuses one day and she said " I don't like Davis because it has too many trees. It reminds me of a forest." Although I discussed this topic with Chen over a year ago, and she might not even remember discussing this topic with me, but I tend to remember things that are of interest to me. She helped me look at Davis at a new perspective and realize that the trees are a part of the campus beauty.

This post is also inspired by the scenery that UC Davis has to offer and what it does for the community. It's nice having a lot of trees around, so you can have awesome amounts of shade and notice the beautiful shades of the trees. There's the arboretum. Then, there are those trees that are all around campus. Some people may have noticed that the UC Davis campus has a lot of trees, which was something I hadn't really thought about until I explored other campuses and when Chen pointed it out. Some may have noticed how the trees tended to shine with beauty when the sun is out. Then, there are those who notice the rich color that the trees have, especially if you have on some sunglasses (that are polarized) or look at the sights through some nice lenses (camera? eyesight?) or light.

Activities & Recreation Center (ARC) parking lot

I know I have focused mainly on the beauty of when you look at trees you notice the different types of colors the leaves have, especially with nice lighting or lenses. But, there's also a beauty to those trees who don't always have leaves, such as in the image above. I walk by this area almost everyday. Until recently, I hadn't notice how many trees surround this area since there's not that much shade when it's quite sunny. But, look, there are a lot of trees in this parking lot.

Next to housing office and ARC

This pictures differs from the other ones in how trees are not all divided and leading to a place in between. However, the picture still provides the idea that there are a lot of trees and it continues. And, from this picture you can't really tell when the trees will end. There's a lot in this area. This is also the part of the campus that I believed most resembled a forest.

Behind the ARC and in front of the Student Health Center

Between Russell Park and Student Health Center

Tercero Dormitory parking lot

Arboretum

Between Hoagland and Storer Hall and leads to downtown

Between Everson & Art Building and directing the way to Mrak Hall.

Between west quad and Hart Hall and directed to Hunt Hall.

In the middle of the quad and directed towards Haring Hall

Between East quad and the South & North Hall and directed towards Hickey gym.

I hope the pictures provided you an understanding of the theme, "it continues". There's trees all over the UC Davis campus. I only covered the parts where I frequent regularly. Also, when I look at the pictures I think that as long as I continue through this path, the trees will continue to be there leading to the path.

 Do you notice a pattern or something unique about what I posted or have a different perspective of the UC Davis campus?

Although UC Davis has a lot of trees, the campus offers much than trees and shouldn't be noted particularly for their trees. I particularly chose to focus on the different sights of trees on campus to signify the beauty of trees.There are so many other spots and sights of the campus that I haven't even mentioned yet. It's also about discovering UC Davis through your own lenses or perspective. So, why not take a break and notice the beauty of nature around you. 

Davis at Night With Trees and Birds

I been wanting to take more pictures of the Davis and UC Davis area. I been having this blog post idea that I been meaning to do, but I haven't found the time to go and take the pictures that I wanted in order to produce that post. But, I do plan on doing it once midterms and papers are done! 

In the meantime, I walked around a area and I noticed the birds that frequently flied by the place and I wanted to see where the birds stayed, if they stayed at all. So, in the pictures below that's where the birds stayed. And, I guess sleep.

The first picture is my favorite out all the other ones in this post. I just really like it for some reason. Maybe it's because you can see birds flying out of the tree. I wanted to capture a lot of birds flying out of a tree, but that was difficult since a lot of birds didn't want to do that. Only a few birds flied out of a tree at a time.

Blue isn't my favorite color, but I actually think it's quite nice and beautiful.

 I always liked looking at views at night and I guess when you take a look at the pictures you can kind of understand why. I think the trees looked really beautiful. And, it's nice to just noticed nature.

 A look at the moon! It looked much bigger in person. Such a lovely sight!

This picture is actually more close to the trees than the other pictures, but I guess it's probably too dark anyways.

The pictures towards the end got really dark and there's not that much I can do about it since I don't have a regular camera and just a camcorder. Also, there was a few lights around the area and that's the best I could get of the trees at the time of the night.

Just looking at the pictures helps me realize the beauty of Davis. I really like trees and sights at night. And, going around for a tour in Davis seems like something I have to do more often because it helps me notice more of the city.